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The IT Bill comprises 93 sections that are divided into 13 chapters. It includes four
schedules which lay down the relative amendments sought to be made to the Indian
Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Banker’s Evidence Act, 1891,
and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The 13 chapters respectively deal with
preliminary matters, digital signatures, electronic governance, attribution,
acknowledgement and dispatch of electronic records, secure electronic records, and
secure digital signatures, regulation of certifying authorities, digital signature certificates,
obligations of subscribers, penalties and adjudication, the cyber
regulations appellate tribunal, offences and network service providers.
The Bill has also proposed e-savvy changes in the archival. For
instance, you can file an FIR at a police station through an e-mail. The Bill
has also proposed a legal framework for the authentication and origin of
electronic records/communications through electronic or digital signatures. In simple
words, the introduction of digital signatures means that the consumer can buy or
sell over the Net through credit cards, etc.
What does this mean in economic terms? A NASSCOM survey puts the total volume
of e-commerce in India (1999-2000) at an estimated Rs. 450 crore. Of this, about
Rs. 50 crore was contributed by retail Internet or business-to-consumer (B2C)
transactions, and the rest by business-to-business (B2B) dealings.
Examples of B2C include buying music or books on, say, rediff.com or manufacturers
in Moradabad exporting brassware to international consumers. All these transactions
would get a phenomenal push once the Bill becomes an Act.
E-commerce worth Rs. 450 crore may seem negligible, but is impressive
when viewed against the backdrop of a non-existent regulatory
framework for e-commerce. Imagine the potential that would be
unleashed once the framework is in place!
The Bill aims to curb computer crimes, and provides for penalties,
punishment and compensation for hacking, unauthorized access to computer
networks, databases, spread of computer viruses, disruption of services, copying of
software, tampering with source documents and electronic forgery.
Meanwhile, the government has showed that it is prepared to safeguard the interests
of its citizens. It refused to accept the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendations that
cyber cafes should maintain details on users and the sites they visit.
The IT Bill is a a great piece of
cyber art, heralding electronic
commerce in India.
